Glencore to finance Chad's $1.3 bln oil assets purchase

N'DJAMENA, June 16 (Reuters) - Chad has selected Glencore to finance its purchase of Chevron (Amsterdam: CHTEX.AS - news) 's $1.3 billion oil assets, the oil ministry said in a statement, as the commodities trader deepens its ties with the central African country.

The U.S. oil major said on Friday it had sold its stake in an oil concession and pipeline system in southern Chad, known as the Doba Project, to the government to focus instead on its top investment priority in Texas shale oil.

"For the financing, the Republic of Chad, after having sought the support of several lenders and studied their offers, has decided to retain Glencore Energy UK Ltd," the oil ministry said in a statement dated June 13.

It said the loan, backed by crude oil exports, will be repaid over a period of four years.

Glencore declined immediate comment on the deal.

The Doba project includes a 25 percent in the Doba oil concession as well as minority stakes in two companies in a pipeline project linking Chad to the Atlantic (Frankfurt: 98S.F - news) coast via neighbouring Cameroon.

ExxonMobil and Petronas are also stakeholders in Doba.

The Financial Times reported that Deutsche Bank (Xetra: DBK.DE - news) , Natixis (Paris: FR0000120685 - news) and Credit Agricole (TLO: ACA.TI - news) as well as regional development lenders were also participating in the Glencore deal.

Top (Taiwan OTC: 8419.TWO - news) commodities trader Glencore has been expanding in the poor, landlocked country since 2012 when it agreed to invest more than $300 million in oilfields and signed a deal to export crude oil from 2013.

In April, it agreed to buy Chad-focused oil company Caracal Energy for about 800 million pounds ($1.34 billion).

Chad produces around 105,000 barrels of oil per day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, with output in decline due to maturing fields.

($1 = 0.5956 British Pounds) (Reporting by Madjiasra Nako; Writing by Emma Farge, editing by David Evans)